Just remember, that any time you have higher powered versions of the same speaker available, the almost universal rule is that the more power it can handle, the less high end it will have, and probably more, or at least more solid, low end as well.
It's true, they often have different sonic characteristics. The lower powered speakers tend to use lighter cones, smaller magnets, and as a result often have less midrange and bottom end.
There isn't always more high end with a less powerful speaker, though, even when they
seem to be brighter.
The high frequencies can be just as bright in a high powered version - we simply perceive them differently because they're balanced out by the mid and low frequencies. This is the result of frequency masking and how our ears/brains perceive sound.
Here's a good example:
If you look at the graphs Celestion publishes, the G12 H 75 Creamback actually has
more high frequency content than the G12 H 65 Creamback by about 5dB. But the 75s also have more bass and midrange. So they don't SEEM to have as much high end,
when in fact, they have more.
The same is true of the 70 Watt V-type vs the 60 Watt Vintage 30. The V-type has more low mid and bottom end. But people think it has less top end, when in fact it has slightly brighter high end.
So it's often more a matter of more bass and midrange affecting how we perceive the high frequencies, than actually having more high frequencies.
I'm pointing this out because some of us do a bit of recording with higher powered speakers (I often record the 90W speakers in my Lone Star, f'rinstance). Instead of increasing the high end with EQ if you want more sparkle, the better practice is to take some low end and midrange out in order to achieve the desired
perception of brightness. This way, you're not drowning out the cymbals, acoustic guitars, or breathy vocals, etc.
You don't want to be forced to bring up all the rest of the high frequencies to compensate for over-EQing the high frequencies on a guitar speaker, because you can wind up with a shrill sounding mix.
I'm sure DTR is aware of this because he knows audio, and is using the term "less high end" as shorthand for "less
perceived high end" -- as a practical matter the lower powered speaker will indeed seem brighter to the listener, and he's right as rain in that regard.
For recordists, however, it's useful to know this in order to avoid mix mistakes.
You also might want to scoop out some lows and mids if you want, say, a more vintage amp sound, not only because vintage lower powered speakers have a different response, but also because lower powered amps have different low-end responses.
